Patricia was silent. Marcus let her take the time. They had met often enough for him to know when she was preparing a defense and when she was confronting something that required a real answer. At last she said, "The committee will convene within fifteen minutes. I want you on the call."
"I'll join from a private airport room. We'll give the passengers an accurate announcement first."
"Agreed. Marcus, I'm sorry."
He thought of Sarah saying the same thing the instant she learned who he was. "I know you are," he said. "Let's find out what that means."
He returned the phone to Janet. She looked as though she'd aged five years in ten minutes, and he was not pleased by that. She had treated him unfairly, but the purpose of accountability was not to make another person physically smaller in front of a crowd. He asked Santos to remain, invited Dr. Voss and Arjun to submit statements, and turned to Janet without raising his voice.
"I would like you to correct the record in front of the passengers who heard the original accusation," he said.
Janet looked at the podium microphone. "What exactly should I say?"
"That the seat was valid and the reservation information used in the cabin was out of date. That you've verified it. And that the delay is the airline's responsibility."
Janet stood behind the podium for a moment before pressing the microphone button. "Ladies and gentlemen traveling on Atlantic Airways Flight 447, we apologize for today's departure delay. A reservation dispute involving a passenger in first class has been reviewed. The passenger's ticket was valid and his seat assignment was correct. The earlier instruction to relocate was issued in error, and we are taking steps to resolve the matter. Thank you for your patience."
There was no applause. A few passengers nodded. Others looked at one another as though they were hearing the missing piece of a conversation that had been happening in front of them for half an hour. The correction mattered precisely because it was plain. Marcus had not needed a public declaration of his wealth or a confession of prejudice broadcast over the gate speakers. He had needed the airline to say what its own computer showed.
Howard Bell approached him after the announcement. He stood with his newspaper tucked beneath his arm and an awkward, defensive look on his face. "Listen," he said, "I told you to move because I didn't want us delayed. I didn't mean anything by it."
Marcus looked at him. "You meant that your convenience mattered more than finding out whether I was right."
Howard shifted his weight. "I wouldn't put it like that."
"I would," Marcus said. "You could have asked to see my ticket. Or said nothing. Instead you told me to accept whatever seat they gave me."
The older man opened his mouth, then closed it. He looked at the ticket in Marcus's hand. "You were right," he said finally. "I should have waited for the facts."